Shiawase
by Evantis
Summary: He can't see, can't hear, can't talk. Naruto knows Sasuke is dying, but can his care and love spur Sasuke to strive for life? Narusasu. Light Kakairu.
1. Chapter 1: Kanashii

Hey, there! Am I making too many stories? But really, I couldn't get this one out of my head! And I'm sorry I haven't really updated anything else except "Tragedy's Child" but I'm having one hell of a writer's block. I'm really clueless on how I should go on with the other stories. What do you all think? Oh, and for those of you who _noticed,_ I made this story 2 times because there was something wrong with the formatting the first time, so I posted it again! Ha, ha…sorry…

I think this story is kind of sad…I mean, eventually it _will_ be sad and all. The storyline is taken from the movie, 'Kogitsune no Heren', which means 'Helen the Baby Fox'. Have you seen that movie? I like it very much. So this story is based on it – kind of, anyway. It's Narusasu and a bit of Kakairu. Hmm…what's it about? Well, it's mainly about Sasuke and Naruto, of course!

Okay, okay – rewind the tape. Sasuke is blind, deaf and mute. Kakashi wants to put him to sleep mercifully, but Naruto objects, when he comes over to stay with Iruka, his uncle. Naruto is determined to let Sasuke live his life to the fullest! But can he really ease Sasuke's suffering and make his last days happy?

Anyway, this isn't about the other stories! Okay, this is my new story! By the way, the Japanese meanings are below, so read carefully, ne? There are some Japanese words and there's a Japanese sentence at the end because I didn't really know how to phrase it into English. I thought it sounded a bit odd.

Enjoy!

Shiawase 

---

Chapter 1: Kanashii 

---

Naruto looked around the airport, searching for his uncle.

_Hmm…where is he anyway! He said he'd be here at one…it's already one-thirty! My flight was delayed…but how can he be delayed, too? _Naruto thought in frustration as he searched for a sign of that familiar chocolate-brown face. _Iruka…Iruka…where the hell are you!_

"Naruto!"

Naruto spun around the minute he heard that familiar voice. "Iruka! How can you mistreat me like that! You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago!" he scowled and folded his arms.

"Ah, my bad, my bad," Iruka said, scratching the back of his head. "But you see, it's not exactly my fault…"

"Oh, so you must be Naruto," a deep, masculine voice said.

Naruto saw a silver-haired man walking up behind Iruka. He was tall, slender and looked a little intimidating. He had silver hair, and he covered just about eleventh-twelfths of his face in a mask. Truth be told, Naruto thought this guy was pretty cool, though he looked a little eccentric.

_Jeez, who is this guy?_ Naruto examined him properly. Was he some unknown relation? Impossible. Naruto's known relatives was only Iruka.

"Oh, Naruto – this is Kakashi, my…my…"

"Boyfriend," Kakashi said, quite cheerfully, shaking Naruto's hand.

W…w…w-what! Iruka is gay! I didn't know! And man, this guy is really cool… 

Iruka whacked Kakashi to a side and said, "He's a doctor and my roommate-slash-employer-slash-friend. We live next to the clinic he owns. Hope you don't mind that."

"Of course not," Naruto grinned. "I'd _love_ to live with the two of you."

Iruka looked at him, a little uneasily and then said, "Okay, then. Shall we go? Or do you want to grab something to eat first, Naruto?"

"Hn! You guys were so late I went to buy some onigiri already," Naruto stuck his tongue out at them.

"It was Kakashi's fault!" Iruka said indignantly. "This man can't get anywhere on time! It's a miracle he managed to rush to a house fifteen miles from our house when he was one hour late! And there was the woman who was having a heart attack – do you know what Kakashi did? He brushed his teeth and washed his feet and read the newspaper and drank tea before leaving! It was a miracle she didn't die…"

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle. "You're one bad doctor, Kakashi-sensei."

"Thank you, Naruto," Kakashi said, swinging the car keys. "So? Shall we go?"

"Don't you try anything funny while Naruto's here, Kakashi…"

"Well, maybe."

"Don't "maybe" me!"

"Oh, Iruka-sensei, you're so cute when you're all worked up."

"Don't talk like that in public!"

"I just can't resist it…"

"You better not pollute Naruto's mind!"

_Hee, hee – this is going to be one interesting term_, Naruto thought evilly.

---

Kakashi's clinic was a half-hour journey from the airport. They used Kakashi's small white truck to get to their destination. While Kakashi drove along the peaceful country roads, Iruka spoke happily to Naruto.

"Of course, there isn't anything much like a shopping mall or a cinema around there," Iruka said truthfully. "But the scenery is very nice and all. And sometimes, if you like, you can help Kakashi around the clinic. But you have school and all, so I guess you wouldn't want to work and tire yourself. It's fine anyway…Kakashi has more than enough hands and this time of the year, there aren't many patients. Oh, and…"

"Hai, hai, Iruka," Naruto said, trying to calm the excited mother hen down, making hand gestures to emphasize the point. "I get it, I get it. I don't mind helping Kakashi around the clinic, even if I've got school. I've never helped out in a clinic before, and I don't mind seeing how a doctor works. And yes, the scenery is very nice, I know."

"If it's too cold, you can always say and we'll make the heater work up more. Oh, and there isn't a television in the house, I'm afraid…and if you don't mind we sometimes eat the same thing for two days straight…if you don't like it, I'll order take-out for you…"

"Iruka!" Naruto interrupted. "I'm fine, okay? I didn't come here to be some sort of brat and cause you trouble. And I love the cold I'll just do my own stuff, and you can carry on your life like when I wasn't there."

"The kid's fourteen, Iruka," Kakashi added. "He's fine by himself. And he can withstand the cold."

"Oh, but…"

"No 'but', Iruka!" Naruto pouted. "I'm fourteen already. I'm not eight or twelve." _I _like _Kakashi's style!_

"Okay, okay, you win," Iruka sighed. "But if you need anything…"

_There he goes again,_ Naruto thought. He looked out of the window and looked at the endless green pastures. It was nearing the end of wintertime, and spring was just coming around the corner. Flowers were appearing amidst the springy, green, healthy grass. Wild rabbits could be seen hopping from time to time, and northern foxes appeared every now and then.

Naruto had come over to Iruka's place not for holiday, but for school. Naruto's parents were both working, and had to go for a long business trip. They both felt uncomfortable about Naruto being alone, so they sent him here to Northern Hokkaido, to stay with his uncle, Iruka and study at a high school there for a few months.

Truth be told, Naruto didn't like his parents babying him about. His father was a rich businessman, and was always saying that Naruto "might get kidnapped and be used to my disadvantage". It was ridiculous to say Naruto never faced any kidnap attempts before. In all his fourteen years, he'd faced kidnapping thirty times. During the first ten attempts, he had to be saved. The next twenty, however, he learnt the proper place to hit a man, and gradually protected himself. But his father just wouldn't stop worrying, and his mother wouldn't stop babying him.

Of course there'd been objections, vase-throwing, pillow-throwing, clock-breaking and screaming and yelling, but eventually, the problem was settled and it was decided that Naruto was to go to Hokkaido.

It was not that he minded coming to Hokkaido. It was just that he was so used to Tokyo already, he didn't really want to switch so fast and leave his friends behind, even if it was for only a few months.

Iruka had lived in Hokkaido for the past seven years. It was usually that he came to visit them, not the other way around. Naruto had never been to Northern Hokkaido. Southern Hokkaido, yes – but not the north.

Iruka had moved to Hokkaido for work at some hospital seven years ago. But eventually, over e-mails and ten-minute talks from Tokyo to Hokkaido, Naruto learnt that Iruka had joined a private clinic. But he had never heard anything about Kakashi before. Naruto knew that Iruka had purposely left the man out of conversation, because he didn't want Naruto blaring out that his uncle, the great Iruka, was gay.

"So, kid – what are you going to do while you're here besides school?" Kakashi asked.

"I don't know," Naruto said. "I'd like to see your clinic, though. And you don't mind if I help, do you?"

"The more the merrier," Kakashi said cheerfully. "You know, it's only Iruka and me. I wanted to hire a cute babe, but we have money problems and all…"

"Money problems? Why?"

"Well, you see, in Hokkaido – especially this part of Hokkaido, mostly everybody is healthy," Kakashi sighed. "The vets make more money, I hear. This place is full of animals who get rundown and what not. Excuse us if we're a little in the poverty side."

"No, it's fine with me!" Naruto grinned foxily. "I'm sick of the rich life back at home, anyway! Mom's always babying me, like I'm some sort of five-year-old…"

"Naruto, your mother is only worried about you," Iruka said. "You shouldn't talk about her like that!"

"By the way, did you two adopt any kids?" Naruto asked, a malicious glint in his eyes.

Suddenly, both men fell quiet.

When an uncomfortable silence of ten minutes passed, Naruto asked, "Is something the matter?"

"Well…" Iruka fidgeted. "Nothing, actually." He changed the subject abruptly to Naruto's new school after that, saying how nice his new school was, and how he knew the principal of the school, who was a very nice man. Naruto observed the abrupt change of mood.

_They're hiding something from me,_ he thought. _Is it really that they have a kid? Even then, why won't they talk about it?_

He didn't like jumping to conclusions, but his first thought was that if they had any children at all, that child was dead.

---

They came to the clinic. It was a rather rickety old house. It was not even made of concrete! It looked like some bizarre mixture of brick and wood.

_Jeez, how does this thing survive a hurricane?_ Naruto wondered. _Or a typhoon?_

It had two floors, and was haphazardly connected to another smaller building with only one floor. That building most definitely had to be the clinic, as a sign was hanging outside saying so. There was another sign hanging on the doorknob, which read "Closed."

Behind the house, there was a barn with several ducks and chickens, a goat, a Golden Retriever and a mad cockatoo who kept screaming for help.

"That bird belonged to a rich bird collector," Iruka sighed. "The nearby veterinarian took him in for a while, and gave him some treatment because of a mild disease. But eventually, the veterinarian couldn't stand the noise either, and when treatment finished, he offered the bird to anyone for seven hundred yen. Even with the light price, nobody wanted to buy him, because he was expensive to keep, and very noisy."

"So you can guess that our dear Iruka took pity on that blasted thing and bought him," Kakashi sighed. "A quarter of my monthly salary goes to those blasted animals Iruka pities so much."

"What's the bird's name?" Naruto asked with interest.

"Baka," Kakashi said and went into the house.

Naruto couldn't resist laughing outright while Iruka indignantly said, "It wasn't my idea. Kakashi got so fed up on the first night that he kept shouting, "Shut up, you stupid bird!" I guess it stuck there and eventually, days after, his name became "Baka". Oh, well."

_Baka, huh? _"What about the other animals?" Naruto asked.

They went around to the barn and Kakashi pointed to the chickens, standing from the right. They were all pecking at the ground.

"That's Busu," Kakashi said, pointing to a fat hen. Naruto snorted into his hand. "And that's Buta, Mizushu and Kaeru." Naruto was bursting with laughter by the time Kakashi finished.

"Now, with the ducks," Kakashi said. "I like ducks. They aren't gluttons like the chickens so they have real names. That's Soshi, Ayoko, Sunari, Keiko and Yoshi. That fat glob of a goat is Momotaro."

"Eh, after the peach-boy?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah – he loves to eat peach," Kakashi sighed. "For some weird reason or another. And the dog's Rosshi."

"Rosshi's a sweet thing," Iruka cooed. "You must be tired, Naruto. The clinic's closed today, so you go have some rest."

"What! I'm so wide awake!" Naruto said, jumping around. "I just came here! I need to explore a bit more, you know!"

"There's nothing to explore," Kakashi said. "The main town is a mile away and we're very remote. So you should make use of your time, and go rest."

"Nope! I want to explore and play around with the animals a bit," Naruto said. "I'll just run in and put my things. Where do you want me to sleep?"

Both men's faces darkened.

"Ne, Naruto, we have to tell you something important first," Iruka said.

Naruto looked at him. "What?"

"Come upstairs," Iruka said. "You'll have to share a room with somebody, if you don't mind."

"Of course not," Naruto said. "But who? I thought you said you didn't have any kids…or rather, you didn't reply at all."

"He's Kakashi's legal adopted son," Iruka said, not looking at Naruto in the eye. "He should be upstairs. Come on."

Naruto followed the two men into the house. It was a very homely, country-place, so unlike the modern home Naruto had, with tiled everything, rosewood staircases, high-end refrigerators and stoves. This was just a simple house. There was a kitchen, some sort of ridiculously small living space that looked like the living room and the hall jammed together, another room which was full of books – Kakashi's study room – and also a toilet. They went up the rickety, wooden staircase that was a little rough-edged at the sides.

Upstairs, there were only two rooms, and one bathroom. Iruka pointed to one of the rooms. "That's where Kakashi and I are sleeping in."

"Eek! You sleep together?" Naruto yelled.

"Not in the same bed!" Iruka shrieked. "We have a poster bed!"

"Right…"

"Of course, I enjoy sneaking into his bed," Kakashi gave a little wink and Iruka whacked him on the head.

"And that's," Iruka pointed to the last room. His voice was emotionless, and his expression unreadable. "That's where you'll be sharing a room."

Iruka took out a set of jingling keys from his pocket and opened the door.

"Why do you lock it?" Naruto asked.

"That's because," Iruka turned the key. "If we don't, he might come out and get himself hurt." Naruto noted that Kakashi put a hand on Iruka's shoulder.

Iruka pushed the door open.

Inside, it was a small room. The ceiling was slanted, and the walls were painted white, but clearly ravished by old age. There was a poster bed against one wall, a desk full of books and a set of shelves filled with books.

There was somebody sitting below on the bed below.

Naruto looked a little closer. He saw that it was a boy, around his age, with silky ebony hair that reached his shoulders. Errant black locks framed his face, and he had feminine porcelain skin. He looked like some kind of enigma. His features were angular and sharp, well-defined. His cheeks were set high. Even if he wasn't looking at Naruto, Naruto knew that this boy was something special. He grinned.

_Now, he's pretty cute!_ "Hey, there," Naruto said. When he got no reply, he asked again, "Hello?"

"Naruto, he can't hear you," Iruka said softly.

Naruto spun around. "_What?_"

"He can't hear you," Kakashi repeated.

"Why?"

Kakashi walked forward and turned the boy around gently, so that his legs were dangling off one end of the bed. The boy didn't make an objection. He just looked at the ground, unmoving and seemingly unconscious to everything else. Naruto saw that he had the strangest pair of onyx gray eyes he had ever seen. They were so deep, like pools of black, but yet they didn't seem to focus. They seemed like empty voids.

What…what's up with him? 

The boy was dressed in a black shirt and white trousers. He just kept looking at the ground, completely unaware of the people clustering above him.

Can't he tell I'm standing here? 

"He…he can't hear you," Iruka said softly and sadly. "And he can't see you. He can't talk, either."

"W…w-what…what happened to him?"

Kakashi shook his head. "We don't know. One day, I was driving along the road, and I saw him, a mere boy of three, sitting on the roadside. I picked him up and when I realized he didn't respond to anything I said or did, I took him to the hospital for professional treatment. And then they said that…he really couldn't see…hear…or talk."

"His parents _abandoned_ him?" Naruto asked in aghast.

"Most likely," Iruka said. "Some families don't like an imperfect child."

"That's disgusting," Naruto snarled. "How can they throw him away just because he can't see or hear and talk?"

"People are cruel sometimes," Iruka said. "But we cannot judge them. Each separate being has his own reasons."

"Anyway," Kakashi reached a hand out to stroke the boy's soft hair. Naruto swore he saw the boy lean into the touch a little. "His condition is worsening. Those who abandoned him…they must've known that he could not live long. Right now, the symptoms are going from bad to worse. They must've know that they would be looking after him for nothing, because he couldn't see, hear and talk and he would die in a couple of years…"

"But he's fourteen now, isn't he? My age, right!"

"Yes, Naruto."

"He's lived fourteen years! He's a boy like me! He hasn't…hasn't…"

"Of course he hasn't," Kakashi said, his voice rather sharp. "I've looked after him for eleven years, Naruto. If he died within a year, I wouldn't be a doctor."

"Oh, right…sorry…" Naruto muttered. _But is he…dying? _"Does he…have a name?"

"No," Iruka said. "At least, not a name that his family gave him. They don't even have his particulars or birth certificate. It seemed that his parents really didn't want him. But the mystery surrounding him is very strange…"

"Why?"

"To get a birth certificate, or some sort of identification, you have to be born in a registered hospital," Kakashi said. "He didn't have any of that. And his name and particulars were not registered into the national computer, like all of us citizens. That means he wasn't born in a hospital. But no parent could possibly know if his or her child was disabled."

"You mean you can't scan for things like that?" Naruto asked.

"No," Kakashi said, putting the boy back to bed properly and brought the blanket up to his shoulders and stroked his hair one last time, brushing aside ebony locks. "Let's talk outside."

Casting one last glance at the ebony-haired boy, Naruto followed after the two men. They went downstairs to the kitchen and sat around the dining table. Iruka took out cookies and some milk for Naruto and made tea for Kakashi and himself.

"Let's say you were born in Hospital A, Naruto," Kakashi said. "Your height, weight, blood type, skin color, hair color, eye color and whatever else would be recorded. So would your parents' names and so on. You'd get a birth certificate, and your particulars would be in your country's computer database. But let's say you were a peasant, in a frugal village with no such technology. You would just be born, probably in your own house, and there would be no record of your existence except to those who know you and maybe, if your village is organized enough, there would be a book of records.

"But he had none," Kakashi rested his elbows on the table, and linked his hands together, leaning against it. "They couldn't find it even in the national database. The authorities even searched the databases of other countries. They couldn't find anything about him. If I hadn't chosen to take a detour, he probably might have gotten attacked by wild animals. If I hadn't found him, he might have died in a few days. That boy was lucky. That road was hardly ever used."

_Where did he come from?_ Naruto wondered. "Maybe his parents requested that he be adopted or something…or maybe they requested the hospital didn't take records!" _I can't believe his parents would do this to him!_

"Impossible," Kakashi said at once. "Even if you request your child be adopted, particulars would be still be taken, your name would be taken. The foster family would come and take the child, but records would still be taken, even if the child doesn't know. And _all_ registered and legal hospitals have to take records or else they'll get into big trouble."

"Then how?" Naruto inquired. "You can't have a child without professional assistance, right?"

"No," Kakashi said. "You can. In the olden days, and with frugal villages, you just have to resist the pain. This is still practiced, you know. For religious or financial reasons. Whoever his mother was, she probably just had the baby in her house."

"But that means she was poor!" Naruto exclaimed. "And you found him here, right? How many poor families are there here? I mean, if she were poor, she couldn't have left this place without an air ticket or something like that. There isn't a direct flight from mainland to Hokkaido – and Northern Hokkaido is another question."

"Not many poor families live here," Kakashi admitted. "Some of us, like Iruka and myself, are on the brink of poverty but we still manage. Even if she were somebody like us, she could still have managed the hospital bill. That's how I foot the animals' bills and so on. But I have come upon your conclusion before, Naruto. However, there's nobody who looks like him, or anybody could possibly be his parents living around here."

"Naruto, if it were that easy, we'd have solved this ages ago," Iruka said. "It's not that simple. That's why there's a mystery complex about his true identity, and where he came from."

"But he was found on the roadside," Naruto said. "Didn't you check the surrounding area?"

"That area is deserted, Naruto," Kakashi said. "Besides, he could've walked some distance on his own. When he was three, he was still stumbling, but he could walk."

"And there's also the time span of three years," Iruka said. "Usually, by the age of one, you would know if there was something wrong with your child."

"That's right," Kakashi nodded. "You can tell by the way he acts, the slow reaction and everything. Even the eating problem."

"They probably got tired of him," Iruka said. "It's very troublesome looking after a boy who can't watch out for himself."

"Looking after a boy like that requires some sort of expensive treatment," Kakashi said.

"Is he sick?" Naruto inquired.

"His blindness, deafness and muteness are all caused most probably by some sort of restraint of blood flow in his brain," Kakashi said. "Moreover, with blood flow jammed like that, occasionally he has certain…outbursts and he just flails about and he'd bite you or scratch you if you touched him."

"He needs expensive medicine to reduce the number of outbursts," Iruka explained. "And also, to try and recover the blood flow. There's also the question of nutrition. You can't expect him to eat properly if he doesn't know what food is. When he doesn't eat, you have to buy medicine with strong nutritional value so that he still can grow properly."

"Medicine?" Naruto inquired.

"And milk," Kakashi said. "He can't really smell or taste his food either, so he doesn't want to eat what he doesn't know. Or more properly said, he can't differentiate the different types of food, that's why he refuses it so often. He doesn't understand. That's why we give him liquid food. If he doesn't get his nutrients, his body and immunity system will get weaker and he'll die at a faster rate."

"Then he must come from a poor family," Naruto said. "Living around here. The medicine costs, doesn't it?"

"It's very expensive," Iruka said matter-of-factly. "A family who can't afford hospital bills can't possibly pay for medicine like that."

"There are possibilities," Kakashi said. "But you know, the lack of contradiction doesn't prove you right all the time. His real family might be miles away, but they dumped him here because they didn't want to look after him."

"Are you sure he's fourteen, then?" Naruto asked.

"Yes," Kakashi said. "Several scans from the hospital have proven his age. Of course, his birth date can't be confirmed, but Iruka likes to celebrate his birthday on the day we found him. "It's the day he was born to us," Iruka says."

"Hee, nothing less from the mother hen!"

"Hey, what was that!"

"What about his name?" Naruto asked. "Does he have one?"

"Of course not," Kakashi said. "After all, they abandoned him on a roadside. How are we supposed to figure out his name? And he can't talk."

"So he's nameless?" Naruto yelled in horror.

"Baka!" Iruka struck him on the head. "_We_ gave him a name."

"Oh? You make a good mom, Iruka," Naruto smirked. He turned to Kakashi. "But if he doesn't have particulars or anything, how can he became your legal son?"

"They made exceptions because nobody else wanted to look after him," Kakashi said. "Besides, I am a doctor. I can take immediate action if something happens."

"So his name is…?" Naruto asked Kakashi.

"Sasuke."

---

Kakashi and Iruka decided they wanted to go the clinic to sort out some administrative stuff, so Naruto went back to the room. Iruka had given him a spare set of the keys to the room and Kakashi had reminded him twenty times to lock the door after he left.

Sasuke was still sitting on the bed. He was looking at his lap, unmoving. You'd think he was dead or something but he wasn't.

Naruto pulled out a chair and dragged it beside Sasuke. The boy didn't even twitch. His long errant locks of hair fell around his face, a stark contrast against his pale skin.

Naruto observed the boy's ethereal features. _He's…really…fragile…but so…so…_

"Beautiful," Naruto breathed. Sasuke's pale skin, ebony hair and onyx gray eyes all complimented each other. Naruto had never met another like Sasuke before.

"Iruka and Kakashi tell me that they found you on the roadside," Naruto didn't even know why he was talking to a boy who couldn't hear him. _Have I gone ballistic or something?_ "I always thought that parents loved their children more than anything else, and wouldn't abandon them for anything. I was wrong, huh? Bang goes my theory."

Sasuke didn't even know he was there. He just kept staring at his blankets.

"I wonder where you came from," Naruto went on. "I'm here for school, you know. Both my parents are working, and they don't trust me with the house. Jeez, they think I'll set it on fire or something. They want Iruka to watch over me like the mother hen he is. Does Iruka do that to you, too? I know he means well, but sometimes he's just really like a hen, isn't he? But you know? I don't mind coming here. I've always wanted to come to Hokkaido, and stay with Iruka. He's my only uncle, you know? Hee, it must seem strange that I don't address him as "uncle" but he doesn't like it and as far as I'm concerned, it doesn't suit him. Don't you think so, too?

"You've stayed here for a long time, right? Did you know that Iruka and Kakashi – his your doctor and your dad, right? – are hopelessly and madly in love with each other? They're really kind – taking you in and all. I bet they treat you like a son! You know what, Sasuke? You don't need that family who threw you away, they're both your family! And I'll only be here for a few months but…I'll be the best brother you can ever have! But I wonder…what were they thinking? It wasn't your fault you're like this, right, Sasuke?"

Naruto paused. _I have seriously lost it. He can't hear me, can't see and can't talk to me. Why am I even babbling here like an idiot?_ "Sasuke, what's your world like?"

Naruto looked at Sasuke, who hadn't moved at all. Naruto reached out a hand to touch his shoulder.

Sasuke's reaction was very slow. Five seconds passed before he looked up to stare at Naruto's general direction. Naruto let out the breath he'd been holding for so long when does feminine features turned to look at him.

"Hey," Naruto whispered. "I'm Naruto. Uzumaki Naruto. I'm 14, like you."

_He can't hear me. He can't see me. He doesn't even know who I am…_ Naruto looked at Sasuke. He was hit by a wave of sorrow.

_He's like me. He's my age. What would happen if I was like him? Would _my_ parents throw me away? Would I have been as lucky as him to be found by Kakashi?_ Naruto thought so much as Sasuke leaned against the bed.

Naruto felt something warm and hot dribble down his cheeks. He wiped it away, quite roughly.

"Sasuke…ka…"

Naruto stood up, and left the room, taking extra care to lock it before he left. It was just too hard, too painful to see somebody, who could possibly be him, sitting there, unable to see, hear and talk. Naruto couldn't help but wonder what Sasuke felt everyday, what he was thinking. And Naruto couldn't help wondering what it'd be like if he were in Sasuke's place.

Sasuke…kanashii o kanjiru koto ga dekiru no ka? 

---

Okay, okay – let's get the Japanese words straight.

'Shiawase' literally means 'happiness'. Why would this be a happy story? Well, you'll have to read along and find out!

'Kanashii' means 'sadness' or 'sorrow' or whatever it is. Just not a nice feeling.

'Baka' means 'idiot'. Yes, that cockatoo is stupid, isn't he? But he's a joke of the story, so no harm throwing him in.

'Busu' is 'ugly' and 'Kaeru' means 'frog'.

And Momotaro is actually a boy from a Japanese folktale. If you don't know – I'll tell you. Long story short – there was an elderly couple who wanted a son desperately. One day, they found a peach floating along the river. The peach was actually a boy, and they called him, 'Momotaro' because 'Momo' means 'peach'.

'Sasuke…ka' means equivalent to the English way of saying, 'Sasuke, huh?' But it sounds weird, doesn't it? I can't make Naruto sound like some sort of coarse guy, so I changed it to Japanese, to make it sound better. Because in Japanese, you can tell if a person is asking a question if he or her adds a 'ka' to the end.

'Kanashii o kanjiru koto ga dekiru no ka' literally means 'Can you feel pain/sorrow/depression?' Really, the word 'kanashii' is hard to describe. So I just made it Japanese – three meanings in one!

Okay! This story is a little hard to translate to English, since I watched it in Japanese anyway…

Next chapter will be up soon, hopefully!

Don't forget to R & R!


	2. Chapter 2: Koukishin

Hey, isn't this pretty fast for an update? Ha, ha! I'm so pleased with myself! Okay – let's forget about me and get on with the story.

I realized there might be some confusion about the first chapter, about the flights from mainland to Hokkaido. You see, there is no direct flight from mainland to Northern Hokkaido. You have to take another plane. A bit troublesome, but it's worth it! I went to Sapporo once. It was really, really nice! But it was freezing! It was the autumn season.

Anyway, that aside…this is the next chapter! It doesn't have many Japanese words except for the title, I think, so yeah, that's about it…

Enjoy! (Don't forget to review! I LIVE on reviews!)

Shiawase

---

Chapter 2: Koukishin

---

Naruto spent the rest of his day far away from that room, from that miserable boy sitting on the bed, unmoving.

I know he's handicapped and all, but how can he like being cooped up in there like that? 

He was currently in the barn, playing fetch with Rosshi. Then, Iruka came out of the clinic and walked over to him.

"Naruto, it's cold – why don't you go put on your jacket?" he said.

"It's fine," Naruto replied. "I'm just…feeling kind of choked."

"Is it because of Sasuke?"

"Hmm…maa na."

"You shouldn't worry yourself so," Iruka smiled, though Naruto could see right through him. "Kakashi is a great doctor. He can find a cure."

"Cure?" Naruto's ears perked up. _Sasuke can be healed?_

"Hey, don't look so hopeful!" Iruka said, not wanting to give Naruto false hope. "It's not as easy as it sounds. Kakashi's been working on it for ten years already. Even the hospital people try. But nothing seems to work just yet."

"You mean there's no operation to cure Sasuke?" Naruto almost yelled.

"It's not that there is no operation," Kakashi said, walking to them, a stack of papers under his arm. "It's the fact that he's too weak to go through the operation."

"Weak?" Naruto inquired.

"His body is too weak to go for the operation," Kakashi said. "These things are caused by the lack of food and so on. He doesn't eat enough, even with the medicine."

_Still, if he eats enough, he can go for the operation…right? _"But if he eats enough, and he gets strong enough, he can go for the operation?"

"Maa, kanose wa zero ja nai," Kakashi said. "You doubt the world of medical science, Naruto."

"And if he goes for the operation, he can be cured, right?" Naruto asked, hope shining into his voice.

"Well…possible," Kakashi said. "Naruto, kitta nakatta no? Kanose wa zero ja nai yo."

"Then I'll help him eat a lot of food, so that he can grow stronger!" Naruto grinned. "And then he can go for the operation, and we'll be best buddies!"

Kakashi frowned. "You can try. But I assure you, Naruto – sweet talk isn't how you get Sasuke to eat and drink."

"Huh?"

"Naruto, Sasuke doesn't eat by himself," Iruka sighed. "We have to help him. Sometimes, it's hard for us, too. All of this is because Sasuke doesn't know what food is, and sometimes things don't seem different to him – like they're all the same. So it's really hard for him, and for us."

Hmm…I'll try! 

_---_

They had dinner together. Kakashi finished his food in two minutes, then grabbed a plate of food and several medical instruments and went upstairs to Sasuke.

"Naruto, if you don't mind, you have to walk to school," Iruka said. "Sometimes, if Kakashi is free, he can use the truck to drive you, of course."

"Iruka, I'm not some kind of brat who needs a chauffeur," Naruto said pointedly. "Please don't worry yourself with me."

"Alright," Iruka said with a sigh. "Naruto, your father and mother entrusted me to look after you. You must understand that. If anything happens to you, I'll be held responsible. And you're my only nephew – I want to take good care of you while you're here."

Naruto sighed, and nodded. "I'm just going upstairs for now. I'm tired."

"Yes, go get some rest," Iruka said, smiling.

Naruto gave a half-hearted grin and trudged upstairs, exhausted by the day's activities. Who wouldn't be, after doing so many things?

In his room, Kakashi had just finished. To Naruto's near horror, Sasuke was lying on the bed on his side, the blanket hanging off his hips. The poor boy was breathing harshly, and coated in a sheen of sweat.

"What did you do to him!" Naruto yelled, running into the room in a fit of blinded rage. He looked at Sasuke, staring into the nothingness ahead, trying to catch his breath. He glared at Kakashi. "What did you do to him!"

Kakashi wiped his hands together and cleared his things on the side table. Naruto saw an injector, a half-filled bowl of food, and an empty bottle of what was most probably medicine.

"I was keeping him alive," Kakashi said simply, taking off his surgical gloves.

Naruto brandished an angry hand at Sasuke. "You call _this_ keeping him alive?!"

Kakashi's eyes flashed anger for a moment, before he seemed to let it go. "You don't understand." He shook his head, took his things and left the room.

Naruto could not resist shouting after him, "What _do_ I not understand, huh!"

There was no sharp reply from Kakashi. It seemed that the silver-haired man had given up arguing with Naruto. The angry blond marched to the door and slammed it shut. There was a bitter sense of thankfulness that Sasuke couldn't hear the appalling loud slam. Naruto grabbed the chair and dragged it next to the bed.

He sat on the bedside and pulled Sasuke onto his lap and wrapped his arms around the small shaking frame of the boy. He expected Iruka to come up any second, to ask what was wrong.

And he was right.

The mother hen burst in five seconds later. "Naruto, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Ask that boyfriend of yours what happened!" Naruto shot angry, holding Sasuke protectively against him. He tightened his hold. When he saw Sasuke whimpering silently, he loosened his death grip slightly. Naruto sighed. "Nothing happened, Iruka. Really."

"But you were shouting at Kakashi – and Kakashi seemed rather angry just now," Iruka said. "Did you guys quarrel?"

"Iruka, really – it's nothing," Naruto said, smiling in an assured manner.

"Okay…um, Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't get mad at Kakashi because of Sasuke. Kakashi's just doing what he has to. It breaks his heart every time he has to force-feed Sasuke."

With that, Iruka left the room without another word, leaving Naruto to gape after him.

---

That night, Naruto locked the room door firmly from the inside. They could open it from outside anyway, but he just wanted to lock it, for some strange reason. Then, he went to check on Sasuke. The boy was more or less sleeping already. Naruto drew the blankets up on his small form, and caressed Sasuke's cheek slightly. He felt a strange sense of possessiveness, a strange will to protect this boy.

_It's alright, Sasuke…I won't let anyone hurt you…_

He took a quick shower and threw on his pajamas and his walrus sleeping cap. After that, he crawled into Sasuke's bed and made himself comfortable. To his surprise, he felt the boy next to him curl up and bury his face into his chest. Naruto yawned and wrapped his arms around Sasuke, holding the younger boy tight.

---

Iruka frowned at Kakashi. "You needn't have been so…"

"So what, Iruka?" Kakashi interjected. "I said nothing to him. He got angry on his own accord."

"Yes, but you should've explained…"

"There's no need for me to explain myself, Iruka. I am doing this for Sasuke. It already _hurts_ doing this to a boy I claim is my son…I don't have enough heart to even explain it."

"But if you don't," Iruka sighed. "Naruto will never forgive you. He's a strong-willed boy."

"There's a time to be a hero and a time where you just have to know that you're helpless," Kakashi ran a hand through his hair. Iruka noticed the faint dark bags under the man's eyes.

"You've been staying up late studying again, haven't you?" Iruka asked quietly.

Kakashi said nothing.

"You don't have to, Kakashi."

"He's…he's fading, Iruka," Kakashi buried his face in his hands. "I know…I just _know…_last time he would still move…still play around…but now…he gets so many of…of _those_…and he's just…"

Iruka wrapped his arms around Kakashi and buried his face into the crook of the man's shoulder. "Kakashi, no matter what, Sasuke will pull through. He's done the same these eleven years. Nobody believed he would live, but he did. All because of you, Kakashi…because of your love and care for him…"

"No…he came this far on his own," Kakashi whispered, returning the hug. "Only Sasuke could have gotten himself here…"

"But what matters is, Kakashi," Iruka smiled gently at the older man. "He's still alive. He isn't going to die yet."

---

The two older men decided to go check on the boys. To their utmost surprise, they found the door locked.

"Naruto must be really angry," Iruka said, searching his pocket for the keys. He unlocked the door and pushed it open.

The room was dark and no sound was heard, except for the very faint vibration of slow and gentle human breaths. Iruka took a step forward, taking special care to note if Sasuke was somewhere around the floor. He knew that sometimes, the ebony-haired boy would sleep in the day and walk around a little bit at night, before going to sleep again. Well, he didn't walk – he crawled because it was easier for him not to get hit by the things surrounding him, despite the lack of ornaments and furniture in the room.

The curtains were pushed aside, so spills of gentle moonlight fell on the bed. Iruka gave a little gasp when he saw the two boys curled up against each other.

Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder, and led him out.

Once they were outside, Kakashi just shook his head and said, "Naruto is going to get himself hurt in the end."

---

The next morning, Naruto awoke to a warmth next to him, and soft breath blowing against his neck. He opened his eyes slowly and saw Sasuke's face buried into the crook of his neck, the small boy curled up against him. The gentle scent of apples reached him, and he buried his nose into Sasuke's soft ebony hair, taking in that sweet scent. Sasuke was obviously still asleep. His breathing was still slow and regulated.

Naruto didn't want to move – not yet, anyway. He didn't want to wake the gently sleeping boy next to him just yet.

_He looks even more fragile…_

Naruto laid down for ten minutes more, before stretching. He looked at the clock. It was six-fifty. He gently eased Sasuke away from him and then carefully got off the bed. None of his actions woke the other boy.

He tiptoed to the closet and grabbed a white shirt, a orange and white jacket and brown khakis. Then, he went to the bathroom.

---

Kakashi and Iruka were already downstairs eating breakfast. Kakashi was flipping through the daily newspaper while drinking coffee, not even fathoming the fact that Naruto had entered the kitchen. Iruka gave Naruto a cheerful, "good morning" and went on eating his breakfast after Naruto returned the greeting.

Naruto took a hot bun from his plate, pealed off a bit, and threw it into his mouth, chewing.

"How does it taste?" Iruka asked with a smile, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Great," Naruto grinned. "Who baked it?"

"I did," Iruka said.

"Wow, you really _do_ make a good mom," Naruto smirked.

"Oh, please! Keep your jokes out of breakfast!" Iruka laughed. "It's the most important meal of the day, you know! And today's Saturday, so we're going to open the clinic. Sorry if you might feel a little left out or lonely…"

"He's fine by himself," Kakashi cut through the silence, turning a page in the newspaper. "You shouldn't treat him like a kid, Iruka." His voice was not joking, not smiling.

_Jeez, I think we hit it off real badly because of last night! _Naruto thought. He was a bit afraid. After all, Kakashi was a rather intimidating guy.

"Kakashi!" Iruka said, almost angrily. "Don't use that kind of tone! He hasn't done anything wrong!"

Kakashi said nothing. He just folded his newspaper and stood up. He walked to one of the cupboards in the kitchen and took out a bowl. He went to another cupboard and grabbed a bottle of clear liquid. It looked like the one from last night. He walked back to the kitchen table and threw two buns into the bowl and grabbed a bottle of milk and put it next to it. He looked at Naruto straight in the eye.

_Why…why is he looking at me like that!_

"Take this to Sasuke," Kakashi pushed the load to him. "And make sure he eats everything." He pointed to the bottle of liquid. "He has to drink all of this, too." With that, Kakashi left the kitchen without another word.

"Why is he doing this?" Naruto asked Iruka immediately after Kakashi left.

"Well, he wasn't…too happy with you about last night," Iruka said, shifting nervously. "I mean, you were angry with him and all…he felt offended, I guess…it wasn't his fault he had to treat Sasuke like that…"

"But he _hurt_ Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed. _And nobody will get away with that while I'm here!_

"You'll see," Iruka said. He cast a nervous glance at the window. Naruto saw that the silver-haired man was heading for the clinic. "You better hurry and take those to Sasuke and get him to eat. If you can't, call me quickly and I'll help you. It won't be pretty if Kakashi comes back and finds out you haven't done it."

"Is he…daring me or something?" Naruto asked.

"No. He's trying to prove something to you."

---

Naruto went upstairs with the things in his hand. He noticed there wasn't the little injector he saw Kakashi use last night. But he didn't mind. He could get Sasuke to eat and drink these things the normal way.

He set the pile on the floor next to the bed and gently shook Sasuke.

"Sasuke," he called out gently, even though he knew the other couldn't hear him. "Sasuke, wake up."

Sasuke woke up and blinked a few times, his unseeing eyes dazed and unfocused. Naruto gently helped the boy sit up and then lifted the abnormally light boy off the bed and gently put him onto the floor.

Naruto knew Sasuke was still drowsy with sleep, so he let the smaller boy lean against him. Sasuke was sitting on Naruto's lap and his head moved about every now and then, as if trying to catch a sound he couldn't hear.

Naruto took the bottle of milk and opened it. He brought it to Sasuke's lips. "Drink it, Sasuke. Drink it." But Sasuke refused to drink it. Even worse, he shook his head wildly, backing away from the cool glass. Sasuke may have lost a good number of his senses, but his sense of touch was there and was most probably intensified to make up for his many disabilities.

_Why won't he drink?_ Naruto decided to find another alternative. He took out the two buns and set them on the bottle of liquid, one on top of the other. Then, he poured some of the milk into the bowl. He brought the bowl to Sasuke again and pressed it against the other boy's lips. "Drink it, Sasuke! Drink it!"

This time, Sasuke thrashed wildly. He jerked away sharply from the bowl and caused Naruto to almost lose his hold. At least a bit of milk splattered on the floor only.

"Sasuke, why won't you drink?" Naruto whispered to himself. _He can't see the milk…he doesn't know what it is…_

He was about to lift the bowl again when a hand stopped him in midair. Naruto looked up to stare into the single eye of Hatake Kakashi.

---

"Kakashi, don't be so hard on him," Iruka begged.

"He doesn't see reason," Kakashi said calmly. "I'll just make him see it."

"But he's…he's a very persevering boy! Even if you tell him, he won't accept it…"

"Then I'll make him accept it."

"Kakashi, please! He's only a boy…he's only 14! What does he know?" Iruka said desperately. "He doesn't understand Sasuke yet…but he tries! So, please…Kakashi…don't be hard on him. Naruto's a good kid. And he only wants to help. He didn't mean to shout at you last night, I'm sure…but it was only because he didn't understand…"

"But he thinks he does," Kakashi let out a heavy sigh. He leaned forward and hugged Iruka and whispered into his ear, "Alright. Even without you telling me, I won't be hard on him. He's only trying to help because he feels sorry for Sasuke…just like you and me. I know he's a good a kid…he has that look in his eyes, and he truly and really wants to help Sasuke…but he doesn't understand, Iruka…if he doesn't understand now, it'll be so much more painful and hurtful for him in the end…you and I both know Sasuke isn't going to last…"

"Yes…" Iruka buried his face into Kakashi's shoulder. "I know."

_But I just want to keep believing he will._

_---_

"What?" Naruto asked sharply.

"That isn't the way to do it," Kakashi said calmly.

"You're going to hurt him like last night?" Naruto demanded.

"No, I'm going to help him like last night."

"Do you know how tired he was!" Naruto yelled in anger. _How can he not understand? He's Sasuke's father!_

"I know the exhaustion he gets," Kakashi said. "And the medicine itself has side-effects. Don't you wonder why Sasuke sleeps so much?"

"Then don't force him! Don't bully him! Don't make him tired!"

The reaction from the older man was completely unexpected. Kakashi grabbed Naruto's shoulders and shook him. "Think about what we can do for him! If he doesn't eat, he'll die! You've just seen this – you've just _tried_ making him drink, but he won't! To him, food and liquid are the same, just some odd thing that he doesn't comprehend. Do you know how this started? Do you, Naruto? When he was young, he refused to eat! I had to force him then, and now, he's grown more afraid of this! But there's _nothing we can do!_ This is the only thing that can keep him alive! For goodness's sake, Naruto – you're a really nice kid and I don't want to do this with you!"

Naruto was speechless. Kakashi caught him completely off-guard with his sudden shouting.

Kakashi let go of Naruto and looked away. "You understand now, right?" then, he took Sasuke from Naruto and held the boy's jaw firmly. Next, he took the same injector from last night out of his pocket and put it into the bowl of milk, sucking some of the white liquid up.

After that, much to Naruto's horror, he forced the thing into Sasuke's mouth and shoved the plunger of the injector roughly, spewing the liquid into Sasuke's mouth.

The smaller boy writhed and squirmed, fighting and thrashing furiously, trying to get out of the death grip. Milk trickled down his mouth as he fought furiously to get away. Naruto watched, helpless and in horror.

"To him, milk is just some odd liquid," Kakashi said, filling the injector again and bringing it to Sasuke's mouth once more. "He can't even smell it properly."

Naruto just watched, clenching his fists.

He was beginning to dislike knowing more about Sasuke's painful life.

---

Iruka was waiting for him with a worried look on his face at the base of the staircase.

"Naruto?" Iruka asked unsurely.

"Oh, Iruka," Naruto put on his trademark grin again. "What's up?"

"Oh, err…um, nothing," Iruka said hurriedly. "Um…is everything alright?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Naruto said cheerfully. "Ja, Iruka – I'm going to have a look at the animals again. Kakashi says he'll be down after he's finished."

With that, Naruto hurriedly left the house and ran to the barn. He really couldn't stand this anymore. He couldn't bear to see Sasuke struggle.

"_This is the only thing keeping him alive!"_

_No…it can't be…if somebody tries hard enough, we won't have to force him…right?_

"_**Naruto, just go ahead and do what you believe is right."**_

Something clicked in Naruto's mind. _Yes! That's right! _The words of his father.

The words of Uzumaki Arashi.

---

Kakashi put Sasuke to bed after his force-feeding him. The boy was losing weight. Each day he ate lesser and lesser. Kakashi just couldn't bear to force the young boy to eat. It was just…too hard.

The boy lay on the bed now, fast asleep.

_Tch…he's always sleeping…damn the side-effects…_

Because Sasuke ate lesser of solid food, the amount of liquid food had to be increased, and the medicine had a strong drowsing side-effect. Sasuke got tired more easily, and slept for long periods, even daytime. Kakashi didn't like it. And it hurt so much more now that he had to compare Sasuke with Naruto.

Loud-mouthed, active Naruto and sick, exhausted Sasuke.

Kakashi shook his head and went downstairs.

Life wasn't fair.

---

Naruto never ran so fast in his alive. He dashed from the barn to the house at full speed.

_I have to tell him!_

_---_

"Kakashi…" Iruka said softly.

Kakashi turned away.

"How is he?" Iruka asked quietly.

"Overdose of that medicine isn't good for him, Iruka…we both know that…" Kakashi said wearily. "But it's the only thing we can do…for now."

"I know what you're thinking," Iruka said, his eyes suddenly hard. "Mercy killing."

Kakashi said nothing.

"If…if your father were alive," Iruka said. Kakashi's eyes flashed rage. Iruka must've been feeling very brave…hardly anyone dared to mention Kakashi's father to him. "He'd…he'd definitely say, "You're a doctor right? Isn't your job to save lives?" Isn't that right, Kakashi? Kakashi!"

_Tch…he's right…and I know it…but I just…can't._

"You became a doctor to help people, didn't you?" Iruka shouted. "Isn't that right? Kakashi, Sasuke is more than a patient to you! He's the boy you said you'd look after! How can you just…just…"

"Just what, Iruka?"

To the two men's horror, Naruto had just come into the room, his face similar to black thunder.

"Just what, Iruka?" Naruto repeated, glaring at the both of them. He turned to Kakashi and glared at the man solely. "How can you just what?"

"N-Naruto…" Iruka said, looking away. "What did you…hear?"

"Everything I needed to know," Naruto said. "And you can listen here, Kakashi." He glared angrily at the silver-haired man. "Sasuke is not an animal. He's _human._ And no human, whether brain-dead or deaf or blind or whatever, deserves to die. _Sasuke doesn't deserve to die._ And while I'm here, he's not going to die."

"So what's best for Sasuke?" Kakashi asked quietly. "What's best for him, Naruto? Do you know how painful it is to see him suffering? I'm sorry to ruin your stay here, Naruto – but this is the truth. We're losing Sasuke. Sometimes, Naruto – dying is best."

Naruto glared at Kakashi.

"I'm cutting down the amount of pain he has to feel. I'm only doing what's right, Naruto."

"_**Naruto, just go ahead and do what you believe is right."**_

_Kakashi thinks this is…right?_

"I'm going to a client's place to collect something," Kakashi said, walking out of the kitchen. "That'll take a whole two days. Tell me your answer when I come back."

With that, he left.

---

How was that? How was that:3 was it good enough? Please review and tell me!

Oh, and 'Koukishin' means 'curiosity'. I was thinking about Naruto being curious to find out more about Sasuke.

'Maa na' is like saying, 'well, yeah…' but somehow it sounds nicer in Japanese, ne? XP

Oh, and right… 'Kanose wa zero ja nai' means 'the possibility/chances are not zero'.

'Kitta nakatta' means 'didn't you hear?' I actually want to write this in English, but it looks weird with a half English half Japanese sentence, haha…

Don't forget to review!!


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